13 Must-Watch TV Shows Set in France Perfect For Getting Rid Of the Winter Blues (Some in French With English Sub-Titles)

Before I moved to France, I used to binge-watch any TV show I could find set in France. Now that I live here, I still do that, although I’ve extended my list to include French-language shows with English subtitles. It’s a brilliant way to learn French, and you’ll be amazed at what you pick up.

I mean, really, who can resist a gorgeous village in the French countryside or the streets of Paris? These shows are the perfect pick-me-up for when you can’t get to France or, as in my case, can’t get to the part of France I want to be in.

I’ve rounded up 13 incredible TV Shows set in France, nine English-speaking and four French-speaking, from wartime dramas to cozy mysteries to guilty pleasure rom-coms. Whether you’re craving history, intrigue, or just want to escape to somewhere beautiful for an hour, these shows deliver. 

9 TV Shows Set In France In English

Transatlantic (2023)

This seven-episode limited series on Netflix grabbed me from the start. Set in 1940 Marseilles, it follows Americans Varian Fry and Mary Jayne Gold as they run the Emergency Rescue Committee, smuggling artists, writers, and intellectuals out of Nazi-occupied France. Think Hannah Arendt, Marc Chagall, and Marcel Duchamp racing against time.

The show has a fascinating visual style that feels like stepping into a glamorous, dangerous fever dream. Some viewers found the tone jarring, mixing the gravity of the Holocaust with moments that feel almost whimsical, but I thought it captured how people find joy even in the darkest times. The performances are excellent, especially Gillian Jacobs as the heiress bankrolling the operation.

• Where it’s set: Marseilles, France
• Filmed: Marseilles
• Streaming on: Netflix

The New Look (2024)

Ten episodes on Apple TV+ that dive into the world of haute couture during World War II. Ben Mendelsohn plays Christian Dior, and Juliette Binoche is Coco Chanel, and the show explores how these designers navigated the Nazi occupation of Paris.

I found this absolutely riveting. The costumes are, obviously, phenomenal, and the story of Dior’s sister, Catherine, in the resistance adds real emotional weight. Binoche is mesmerizing as Chanel, playing her as both victim and villain in her collaboration with the Nazis.

The show was filmed entirely in Paris using actual locations where these historic events took place. The Grand Amphithéâtre at the Sorbonne, where Dior held a 1955 fashion show, appears in the series. Le Gallopin, an iconic brasserie from 1876, and Maxim’s restaurant with its incredible Art Nouveau decor, both feature prominently. 

Christian Dior’s original atelier at 30 Avenue Montaigne was recreated at the Cité du Cinéma studios in Saint-Denis, while Chanel’s Ritz Paris suite was portrayed using the Hotel Regina Louvre. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs also appears as a filming location.

• Where it’s set: Paris during WWII and post-war
• Filmed: Paris, France (including Cité du Cinéma in Saint-Denis)
• Streaming on: Apple TV+
• Note: A second season is in development

All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

This four-part Netflix limited series adapts Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a blind French girl and a German soldier whose lives intersect in occupied France during WWII.

The series is visually stunning, with Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie in supporting roles. Newcomer Aria Mia Loberti, who is blind herself, makes her acting debut as Marie-Laure, and she’s wonderful. The show takes liberties with the book’s ending, adding more hope and a romantic connection between the two main characters that book purists criticized.

The production was filmed in multiple locations from March to July 2022. Saint-Malo provided aerial shots and beach scenes, but the main street scenes depicting 1940s Saint-Malo were actually filmed in Villefranche-de-Rouergue in the Aveyron department of southern France. 

This medieval town retained the ancient central square look that Saint-Malo had before WWII destruction. Budapest, Hungary, doubled for 1940s Paris, with Vécsey Street standing in for the Champs-Élysées. Several Budapest landmarks appear, including the Exchange Palace, Festetics Palace, and Zichy Castle in Soponya.

Critics were harsh with this one (28% on Rotten Tomatoes), calling it tonally awkward. I thought it was beautiful to look at and emotionally engaging, even if it doesn’t quite capture the novel’s depth.

• Where it’s set: Saint-Malo and Paris, France
• Filmed: Saint-Malo and Villefranche-de-Rouergue (France), Budapest and Soponya (Hungary), Berlin (Germany)
• Streaming on: Netflix

Marie Antoinette (2022-2025)

This BBC/Canal+ series gives us a fresh take on France’s most famous queen. German actress Emilia Schüle plays Marie Antoinettefrom the age of 14, when she arrived at Versailles, through her rise to power. The first season has eight episodes, and a second season of eight episodes aired in 2025.

Written by Deborah Davis, who did The Favourite, this isn’t your typical period drama. It portrays Marie as a teenager trying to survive the vicious politics of Versailles rather than the cake-eating villain of popular imagination. Louis Cunningham plays King Louis XVI, and the chemistry between them evolves beautifully over the episodes.

I loved how it balanced the palace intrigue with Marie’s personal struggle to have a child and secure her position. The show was actually filmed at Versailles, which gives it incredible scope and authenticity.

• Where it’s set: Versailles, France
• Filmed: Versailles
• Available on: PBS Masterpiece, Amazon Channel, or for purchase

The Tunnel (2013-2018)

If you love crime dramas, this British-French co-production is outstanding. Three seasons, totaling 30 episodes, follow British detective Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane) and French detective Elise Wassermann (Clémence Poésy) as they investigate crimes in the Channel Tunnel connecting the UK and France.

It’s based on the Swedish series The Bridge. The dynamic between the two detectives is the heart of the show. Elise has what appears to be Asperger’s syndrome, making social situations difficult, while Karl is more intuitive but flawed. The crimes are complex and dark, dealing with human trafficking, terrorism, and political corruption.

The final season, Vengeance, is set during Brexit and addresses the refugee crisis. It’s thoughtful, tense television that doesn’t shy away from difficult topics.

• Where it’s set: Channel Tunnel between the UK and France
• Filmed: In France, it was mainly Boulogne-sur-Mer, Calais, Dunkerque, and Wissant
• Streaming on: PBS Masterpiece, Amazon Prime Video

The Madame Blanc Mysteries (2021-present)

This is pure cozy mystery fun. Four seasons (with a Christmas special) follow Jean White, a British antiques dealer who moves to a village in Provence after her husband’s mysterious death. She ends up solving murders with the local police while building a new life in France.

Sally Lindsay is delightful as Jean, bringing warmth and humor to the role. The show is light, entertaining, and filmed in gorgeous locations. Although it’s set in the fictional village of Sainte Victoire in Provence, the series was filmed in Malta (primarily on Gozo, with Sannat and Għarb standing in for the French village).

Season four premiered in July 2025, so there’s plenty to binge. The show has become a hit on both Channel 5 in the UK and Acorn TV in the US.

• Where it’s set: Sainte Victoire, Provence, France
• Filmed: Malta (Gozo, Sannat, Għarb)
• Streaming on: Acorn TV, Channel 5 (UK)

Monsieur Spade (2024)

Clive Owen plays Sam Spade, the legendary detective from The Maltese Falcon, now retired in 1963 in a small French town. This six-episode limited series finds Spade pulled back into action when six nuns are murdered at the local convent.

The show was created by Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Tom Fontana (Oz), and you can feel the quality in the writing and cinematography. Owen brings real gravitas to Spade, capturing that world-weary detective vibe without simply copying Humphrey Bogart.

The series was filmed on location across France, including the village of Bozouls, as well as locations outside Montpellier and Paris. The French countryside is beautifully shot, and the mystery has genuine twists. Some reviewers felt the ending was rushed, but I enjoyed the journey.

• Where it’s set: Bozouls, southern France, 1963
• Filmed: Bozouls, Montpellier area, outside Paris, France
• Streaming on: AMC+, Acorn TV, Netflix

Murder in Provence (2022)

Three feature-length episodes starring Roger Allam (from Endeavour) and Nancy Carroll (from Father Brown) as a couple investigating murders in Aix-en-Provence. He’s an investigating judge, she’s a criminal psychologist, and together they solve crimes while navigating their relationship.

This is lighter than most British crime dramas, more focused on the gorgeous Provence setting and the chemistry between the leads than on graphic violence. The series was filmed on location in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France, and you’ll want to sit at a café in the sun after every episode.

Fans have been begging for a second season since 2022, and there’s no official word yet. Roger Allam has said he’d love to return for more episodes.

• Where it’s set: Aix-en-Provence, France
• Filmed: Aix-en-Provence
• Streaming on: BritBox

Emily in Paris (2020-present)

Love it or hate it, you’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard about Emily in Paris. Five seasons (60 episodes total) follow American marketing executive Emily Cooper as she navigates work, friendship, and romance in Paris. Lily Collins stars in this Darren Star creation that’s become Netflix’s guilty pleasure hit.

The show received backlash from French viewers for stereotyping Parisians, but it’s an escapist, fashion-forward fantasy that happens to be set in Paris. Season five premiered in December 2025 and takes Emily to Rome and Venice, expanding the show’s scope beyond the French capital.

The costumes are outrageous and fabulous. The love triangles are soap opera-level dramatic. The depiction of Paris is filtered through rose-colored glasses. And yes, I’ve binged multiple seasons because sometimes you just want beautiful people in beautiful clothes having beautiful problems in beautiful cities.

Netflix has already renewed it for a sixth season, so Emily’s adventures will continue.

• Where it’s set: Paris (Seasons 1-4), Paris and Rome/Venice (Season 5)
• Streaming on: Netflix

4 TV Shows in France in French With English Subtitles

The Hook Up Plan (Plan Coeur) (2018)

If you want something light and fun to watch while you practice your French, this one is a great place to start. It’s a romantic comedy set in Paris that follows Elsa, a woman who just can’t seem to move on from her ex. Her two best friends, convinced they know exactly how to fix things, hire a male escort to take her on a series of dates and boost her confidence. You can probably guess where this is going.

The three seasons play out like a binge-worthy soap opera crossed with a comedy, and the friendship dynamic between the three women is what really makes it work. Season one is the strongest of the bunch, and viewers who watched it in the original French with English subtitles said the humor translated really well. It’s a quick watch, too. You can get through the whole first season in under four hours.

• Where it’s set: Paris, present day 
• Seasons: 3 (24 episodes total) 
• Streaming on: Netflix 
• Language: French with English subtitles available

Call My Agent (Dix Pour Cent) (2015)

This one is a genuine gem and honestly one of the best French comedies to come out of the last decade. Set in a Parisian talent agency called ASK, it follows four agents and their assistants as they juggle the egos, disasters, and romantic disasters of their very famous clients. 

The celebrity clients are real French movie stars playing exaggerated versions of themselves. Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jean Dujardin, and even Sigourney Weaver (yes, she’s fluent in French) all show up to send themselves up.

It won Best Comedy Series at the International Emmy Awards, which tells you everything you need to know. The writing is sharp, the characters are funny, and it manages to tackle real issues like relationships and racism without ever feeling heavy. A Netflix movie based on the show is also in the works, so now is the perfect time to catch up.

• Where it’s set: Paris, present day 
• Seasons: 4 (24 episodes) 
• Streaming on: Netflix Language: 
• French with English subtitles available

Baron Noir (2016)

If you want something with a bit more political bite to it, Baron Noir is France’s answer to The West Wing crossed with The Sopranos. It stars Kad Merad as Philippe Rickwaert, a cunning politician and mayor of Dunkirk whose career is about to implode. When his close friend and presidential candidate sacrifices him to save his own campaign, Rickwaert sets about rebuilding his life using every connection and trick he has, including some pretty shady ones.

The show mirrors real French politics so closely that critics have been comparing characters to actual political figures since it first aired. French critics loved it, with major publications giving it four out of five stars. 

It’s a dense watch, and you’ll probably want to look up some background on French political parties to keep up, but if that’s your thing, it’s gripping from start to finish. Just be aware that it can be tricky to find in the US right now, though it is available in the UK.

• Where it’s set: Dunkirk and Paris 
• Seasons: 3 (24 episodes) 
• Streaming on: Canal+, Studiocanal Presents Amazon Channel (UK). 
• Language: French with English subtitles available

Un Village Français (A French Village) (2009)

I’m loving this, and I’m up to season five and can’t get enough. It helps that I love anything set during the war, especially in France. It’s a seven-season epic that follows the residents of a fictional village called Villeneuve in the Jura region as they navigate life under German occupation during World War II. 

The New York Times described it as the first major French TV series to seriously tackle collaboration during the Nazi occupation, and that tells you a lot about how significant it is.

What makes it so compelling is that it doesn’t take the easy route. There are no clear-cut heroes and villains here, as the characters resist, collaborate, and everything in between. You watch ordinary people making impossible decisions under extraordinary pressure, and as the seasons unfold, you get to see how those decisions play out over the years. 

• Where it’s set: A fictional village in the Jura region, 1940 to 1945 
• Seasons: 7 (84 episodes) 
• Streaming on: Netflix, Prime Video, Hoopla, MHz Choice, Plex
• Language: French with English subtitles available